Perhaps Alice in Wonderland knew about the power of mushrooms when she ate them to shrink herself. According to new research, mushrooms, particularly their liquid extract, can help fight obesity.
The extract has long been used in traditional Asian medicine practices for over 2,000 years now. This particular liquid is said to have the ability to protect the body against extreme weight gain, while reversing inflammation caused by obesity as well as metabolic dysfunction. The study was performed on overfed mice and the results were promising.
More about the Obesity-Curing Mushroom
The researchers at the Chang Gung University, Taiwan studied the ganoderma lucidum mushroom, which is known as lingzhi in China and mannentake or reishi in Japan. The study showed that the mushroom has the ability to correct the unhealthy microorganisms in the guts of the mice. These microorganisms are the reason behind the obesity in the rodents, which was due to their high fat diet.
The study was published in the Nature Communications journal in which the researchers took advantage of the ancient reputation of the mushrooms as an effective treatment for a number of digestive issues. The research though gave way to a more important realization that involves gut microbes. Based on the findings, gut microbes have a huge role in obesity and other obesity-related illnesses. Although the scientists are still unsure about which causes the which – obesity or unbalanced gut microbes – but they are almost certain that prebiotics and probiotics can help protect the body against the negative health effects.
Mushroom Benefits
The study conducted on the rodents revealed that the mushroom has positive effects on the gut bacteria. It was able to limit the amount of fat accumulation and weight gain despite the mice eating a high fat diet. The mushroom also reduced inflammation, which is often associated with insulin resistance, fatty liver disease, cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes.
With the help of this research on mushrooms, the prevalence of obesity can be reduced. This is crucial especially since obesity is currently a threat to the health of the public. In fact, about 500 million people are obese and 1.4 billion are overweight around the world. With these many people who have weight problems, it becomes a huge challenge to fight and prevent obesity in our modern world.
Although mushroom and mushroom extracts are suggested in treating obesity, they should not be considered a miracle cure. The scientists reported that they still need to conduct an experiment on human subjects, but the good news is that they are optimistic about the positive effects of ganoderma licidum’s effect on excessive weight gain.